Wow…. Stressful day today. It's a looooong story, so don't ask. OK, as promised, here is the next chapter of Bound Souls. This should be better grammar-wise, because I finally installed Microsoft Word, and I have a proofer. I'll also be able to view my progress each day. . Thank god….

Disclaimer: Who would be THAT stupid to think that I owned Slayers, of all anime's!

Bound Souls: -----

What the heck was she DOING cursing every other first, second and third person that came into her shop? Firia sighed and flopped onto Xelloss's bed face first. What was wrong with her? One day she heals any little scratch or bruise that a kid gets from falling down, the next, she was cursing them! Did Xelloss usually do that? If he did, then he was to get a good beating.

Speaking of which, where was Xelloss? Most likely just taking a little walk in the forest nearby, but he usually told her first to avoid what was supposed to always be a good beating (she usually missed). Aw well, she hadn't hurt him for a long time. It's always a good thing for Xelloss to get a beating from her mace once in a while. Not to mention how fun it was.

Firia rolled off the couch, pulling the blankets off with her. The scent was good. It smelled just like Xelloss…..

Uh-uh. Shouldn't be thinking of that. She should be thinking about the shop you're taking care of! Not of Xelloss, where he is, what he sme—OK, let's just get working on dinner.

She got up and made the bed again, then walked quickly into the kitchen. Then she got water and put it in a pot, and started putting in all kinds of meats and vegetables. When all it needed to do was cook, she set down a teapot on the stove and made tea.

A few minutes later, the tea was hot enough to drink. She called Xelloss, got a cup for herself and him, then poured the tea and sat down right as he teleported in. He uttered a small thanks, then sat down and silently sipped at the tea.

Firia was bewildered at the obvious confusion and….. sadness….? That was emanating off of Xelloss. He seemed really bothered about something, although Firia wasn't too sure she should ask him what was making him upset right at this moment.

"Firia…" Xelloss whispered so silently that Firia almost couldn't hear, "W—what's love?"

Questions and assumptions quickly buried themselves in Firia's head. "Well… Love is a feeling of passion, when you have a very strong liking towards someone. You would like them very much, and would do anything for them… and there are other meanings too… but I shouldn't get into that."

"Ah. OK," was his simple reply. That also surprised Firia. Usually he would poke and prod at her until she let out the other meaning. Now he was just leaving her alone. Also, not only did she feel confusion and sadness, she felt anger, betrayal, and all other kinds of negative emotions, most of which she didn't even recognize. The sadness was now just a speck compared to all the other emotions, and confusion a mountain.

"Why do you ask?" dared Firia. She was taking a risk at having her head blown off, but to hear the answer, so be it.

Xelloss immediately tensed. The negative emotions got stronger, and he was silent for several minutes. But finally he spoke.

"Do you dare ask, Firia? If I do say, then you'd probably kick me out."

"Why would I? They are feelings, no more," Firia answered back.

Xelloss laughed, sending a chill down Firia's spine. "Just feelings? Feelings are what make the difference between you and me, between black a white, just and unjust, dark and light. Just feelings you say? Might as well say 'Just the world'."

Firia scowled. He was being literal right now, and she didn't like it! Now she would have to squeeze the answer out of him. Maybe a mace would do that... Naw. Just pressure would do the trick. Or just ask him.

"Are you asking this because you feel that way?" Firia asked, doubting her own words. Why would Xelloss love anyone?

Xelloss blushed bright red, a stunt that Firia didn't even think possible for a Mazoku. "S-sore wa, himitsu desu!" Xelloss stuttered, wagging his finger back and forth. Firia facefaulted.

After regaining her posture again, Firia quizzed, "So that's how things are going to be, huh?"

Xelloss immediately sweatdropped, then put on a cheerful mask and floated in the air. "Yep Firia-kun, that's how things are gonna be!" Then he teleported away. Firia couldn't take it anymore. She fell on the floor laughing.

"Xelloss, you're going to get the ultimate bothering when you get back!" Firia managed to yell between her bursts of giggles.

Yep. Xelloss was confused. He thought she would break out into a fit then start stomping around the house looking for him, but instead when he teleported upstairs, she starts laughing! Now that was scary. Very un-Firia like. Deciding that this wasn't very fun anymore, Xelloss teleported onto the streets outside Firia's shop.

Wow, he hadn't had any negative emotions for several days! Xelloss was surprised that he wasn't staggering along the ground, limping every step, all that fun weakness stuff. In fact, he felt just fine! What was wrong with that? Just in case he was getting weak and somehow didn't know it, Xelloss slipped into a restaurant and sat down at a table. A waitress soon came to him (more like ran with a huge blush on her cheeks), and took his order.

"Just water," Xelloss said. Then the waitress ran off to get his glass--still blushing. Xelloss sighed. Humans were so ridiculous. He could feel the positive emotions coming off that woman even though she was all the way in the kitchen! How unrealistic could a woman get?

When the waitress—her name was Lucy—came back, Xelloss took the glass from her, then to make her mad, or at least irritated, faked dropping it. With a huge crash, the glass shattered on the floor. Lucy shrieked.

"I'm so sorry!" she squealed, "I'll get you another glass right away!" Then she scurried off again, leaving Xelloss with huge gloom lines floating above his head. Did she even know that he was the one who dropped it?

A minute later, Lucy came back with another glass of water. This time, even though Xelloss reached out for it, she set it on the table. Then, just for the heck of it, Xelloss took some powder out of his pouch and sprinkled it in his water, with Lucy watching intently. Within seconds, the water was steaming, and it had taken on a brown color. Lucy clapped her hands, obviously amused.

"You changed it into hot chocolate! Amazing!" she exclaimed. Now everyone in the restaurant was looking at her and Xelloss. "I must know your name!"

Finally, he could get a full meal, maybe even more! "Xelloss," he replied, saying it loud enough to where almost everyone could hear. Immediately he was bathing in waves of fear.

Lucy stepped back. "T-the Xelloss?" she asked. Xelloss smiled wickedly. All the negative emotions… were OK. For some reason, he didn't seem to be enjoying them as much as he used to. Xelloss sighed and put on a neutral mask.

"No, not the Xelloss… just an ordinary Xelloss," he said, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. The fear died down.

"Oh, good, sorry about that." Lucy visually relaxed, then walked away. He still sensed some positive emotions for him from her, but they definatly weren't as strong.

After taking another sip from his hot chocolate, he lay back in his seat, crossed his arms behind his head, put one leg on his other, and searched for random positive emotions around the restaurant. He wanted to see if what he thought was true.

The first emotion he came upon was love. Love… it was so powerful, that he had to draw back a little from its power. He made a note that this was probably the most powerful of the positive emotions, and to tell Juuou-Sama how powerful it was. He tore away from love and then searched again. Next was friendship. Mixed in it was jealousy, contentness, and even anger and hate. He bathed in that emotion for a little while, but it didn't suit his taste. He had to find something more powerful.

Then he came to a boy that was with one of his friends. Sitting across from him was a fair girl. Out of this boy was neither friendship nor love, but an elementary school crush. Far less power than love, but much more than friendship, and a lot more pure. Xelloss loved it. He loved the pureness of it, the feeling, the taste. If this was what love was like, but more powerful, then bring it on.

Suddenly, a huge pain shot through Xelloss's body, and made him silently yelp. Thinking by instinct that he was being attacked, he teleported out of town. He felt horrible, as if he had been doing a full body exercise too long, or he had done a spell much too powerful for him. Even though Mazoku didn't breathe, he was gasping with pain.

"What happened?" he wondered aloud.

A little distance away, a particular dragon howled, and fell on her bed, writhing in pain.

Well, a bit short, but… oh well. Tells how Xelloss feels, but he doesn't give it away to Firia yet! Also… he has discovered a new snack! You'll find the meaning of his pain in the next chapter… muahahahahahahaha

Skiddldee-dum awesome reviewers' responses:

Hitteh Pitteh: ACK! This isn't her actual personality! Her mind is just getting used to the new personality. Kinda like how Xelloss went overboard with the maces and vases (it roimes!) Firia went a bit overboard with the cursing. Yep, just like that. This is not going to be Firia's personality throughout the whole story. It'll get more… justicey-like.

Encyser: Yep! Already know your reviews! Oh, and you'll find that I have many less spelling mistakes, because I now finally have Microsoft Word! (It's a copyrighted name ya know.)

Maddy02: Actually, I'm not going anywhere with that! And I don't wanna explain the whole personality thing again… just look at the response to Hitteh Pitteh!

Wow! I wonder why the number of reviews I'm getting is going down. They should be going up! Aw well. If you read, please review, 'cause it makes me all fuzzy inside! (An exception to Raider, you can just IM meh!)